A SpaceX rocket that carried two lunar landers crashed into the moon as anticipated on Wednesday after veering off course over the past year, according to scientists. Although the actual collision at a speed of 8,700 km/h was not directly observed, astronomers in Chile spotted the resulting debris plume. Experts in space tracking confirmed that the remaining segment of the rocket inevitably struck the moon.
This incident adds to the growing issue of space debris on the moon, a concern heightened as the U.S. and China compete to send astronauts to the lunar surface. SpaceX’s Julianna Scheiman stated that the company is collaborating with NASA to prevent future accidents, emphasizing that this crash was not intentional. She explained that a combination of solar activity and gravitational forces led to the unintended collision with the moon.
Boston University’s Carl Schmidt expressed certainty that his team’s observations indicated the lunar impact. The European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope detected a trail of sodium and lithium extending for tens of kilometers into space for several minutes following the crash, providing indirect evidence of the event.
Even before the debris plume was observed, retired astrophysicist Jonathan McDowell predicted the rocket’s trajectory towards the moon. The crash site was identified near Einstein Crater on the moon’s sunlit western limb, an area challenging to monitor from Earth due to its position between the near and far sides.
Stargazers acknowledged the difficulty of witnessing the impact from the ground but hoped that orbiting spacecraft might capture the aftermath. Visual confirmation is expected from NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter in the following week, offering images of the impact crater. The Falcon rocket’s upper stage, which propelled two lunar landers on January 15, 2025, became adrift and eventually collided with the moon.
The moon has become a focal point for space exploration, with plans for robotic missions and the establishment of a lunar base. Companies like SpaceX and Blue Origin are set to provide lunar landers for NASA’s Artemis program, aiming for crewed missions by 2028. The increasing activity near the moon raises concerns about managing space debris and maintaining a sustainable lunar environment.